We are getting there

NITI Aayog has put forth a plan to turn India's economy to reach a size of $7.5 trillion, (though targeting $10 trillion) or more than three times of what it is today, at $2 trillion. Implementation of GST, tax reform and ease of doing business (read the Cover Story) are all parts of the building blocks of this plan. And, they all seem to be moving on course so far. India is on the throes of a massive change. The change is not only limited to economy and industry but is also being instituted in social behaviour, and most importantly, in changing mindsets. Just look at what all is happening: Swachh Bharat, Digital India, Smart Cities, AMRUT, Affordable Housing, E-governance, E-Procurement, Make in India, Direct Benefit Transfer, Demonetisation, black money campaign, renewable energy thrust, UDAN, etc, and other social campaigns such as the Ujwala Yojna, Beti Bachao Beti Padhao and so on. This is a lot of work in so short a time and work is in progress.

The recently announced affordable housing scheme and Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana or PMAY have seen the launch of over 350 projects to build about 2 lakh houses with a private sector commitment of investing Rs 38,000 crore. The cost of constructing these units will be in the range of Rs 15 lakh to Rs 30 lakh with an average construction cost of Rs 18 lakh per house.

Under PMAY-U, central assistance is provided to each beneficiary in the range of Rs 1 lakh to Rs 2.35 lakh. Of the 2 lakh houses, over 1 lakh will be constructed in Maharashtra, followed by 41,921 houses in the NCR; 28,465 in Gujarat; 7,037 in Karnataka; and 6,055 in Uttar Pradesh; among others. Cement prices have already reached pre-demonetisation levels on the back of demand coming from infrastructure and will firm further due to these housing projects.

GST is on track and is likely to cause another disruption for a quarter, but will soon bring great prosperity. Distressed assets of around $6.8 trillion sitting on books of the banks would also heave a sigh of relief as firms and funds like KKR, Lone Star, Kotak and Edelweiss are planning to mobilise their resurrection. It is estimated by experts that the capital required for the next four to five years to resolve distressed situations is about Rs 30,000 crore to Rs 40,000 crore, and it is already being provided for by NBFCs, PEs and international funds.

The PM completes three years on May 26 this month and a lot is on his plate. Fortunately, for us, his plans have accorded priority to infrastructure and while public spending is leading the way, the private sector is preparing to jump in the fray too. Recently, at a private charity function, I bumped into Sajjan Jindal, Chairman of JSW Group, and when I posed him a casual question on whether the private sector was ready to invest into the India story: 'We are getting there,' he quipped.